Weekly Roundup, October 4, 2015

I’m working on a few other pieces which have allowed me to do what I love best: researchresearchresearch. They include one on Hillary Clinton and carceral feminism and another on queer theory and the neoliberal university. I’m also working on something about this presidential election season, using recent controversies about Bernie Sanders and race as a starting point. It’s ultimately about much more, and I’m excited about it because I think I can make a more complicated case about what all of the chatter really says or doesn’t say about “Race in America.”

These past few weeks were suddenly and unexpectedly filled with outside assigned pieces and while that’s always a delight (I actually like being edited, and being able to write for different audiences), I also know that’s ultimately not as stable a source of income as my subscription plan can be and my primary commitment is to my subscribers. And there’s lots there I need to catch up on.

I’ll be returning to my long-languishing subscriber pieces, starting with one on the the utterly brilliant and ill-fated series Boss, starring Kelsey Grammer. It’s titled, “My Kingdom for Your Ears” — fans of the show will know what I’m referring to. Also coming up: a piece about Pope Francis, abortion, and inequality.

Still, writing for the “outside,” as I call it, keeps me on my toes and my writing fresh because I have to turn outwards and learn new ways of making my points to others, besides being a welcome source of income. So, if you’ve got a project you think I’d be good for and don’t expect me to work for peanuts, hit me up! I’m especially keen on book reviews.

I’m also keen to get back to one of my first loves, on-the-ground long-form reporting but at least for the next few months, I’m saving my energy on that for the subscription. I’ve got a couple of Chicago-based stories brewing, so keep an eye out for those.

What I’m Reading

I’m generally irritable about WBEZ/NPR programs, but I was pleasantly surprised by the Marketplace segments on the 27th of September. You can hear one of them here, about the La Tropicana bodega in northeast Los Angeles. Listening to the story reminded me of very similar changes in my old neighbourhood of Uptown, Chicago. I still miss La Primera and Kenny, who runs it along with members of his immediate and extended family.

Canada’s Conservatives have “pledged to set up a police hotline to report what it called ‘barbaric cultural practices.’” Predictably, Twitter has unleashed a backlash with the hashtag #BarbaricCulturalPractices, which is both hilarious and sobering.

There’s a new exhibit, “Making Niggers: Demonizing and Distorting Blackness,” curated by Mariame Kaba, Rachel Caidor, and Essence McDowell at Art In These Times (2040 N. Milwaukee, Chicago). It runs through January, but you should call the gallery to find out what the exact dates are. You can read more here. It’s Mariame Kaba’s last big project before she leaves Chicago for good, a fact I’m not quite reconciled to. Based on what I’ve seen of other work she’s been involved in, I’m sure this will be excellent.